Mississippi Lighthouses

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the coastline of Mississippi with one of the highest storm surges on record. The Biloxi lighthouse withstood the storm, as it has so many others, but there was significant damage to its interior brick lining. The Ship Island replica was destroyed. The Round Island Light, which had been under restoration after being overturned by Hurricane Georges in 1998, was overturned a second time. This leaves Mississippi with only a single standing lighthouse.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. USCG numbers are from Volume IV of the U.S. Coast Guard Light List.

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General Sources
Mississippi Lighthouses
Great 2003 photos and accounts by Kraig Anderson.
Gulf Coast Lighthouses
Photos and accounts posted by Lowell Thomas.
The Lighthouse People - Mississippi
Reports and photos from visits by Bob and Sandra Shanklin.


Biloxi Light, June 2007; Creative Commons photo by Jimmy Wayne

Lighthouses
Round Island (2)
1859 (station established 1833). Inactive since 1944. 50 ft (15 m) brick tower, unpainted; lantern painted black. Kraig Anderson's photos show the lighthouse as it appeared in 1998, but on September 27 of that year the lighthouse was overturned by Hurricane Georges. A Round Island Lighthouse Preservation Society was quickly formed to carry out a restoration. In 1999 the overturned lighthouse base was righted and stabilized with a steel caisson; Compton Engineering has photos of this work on its web site. In March 2000 a protective breakwater was completed. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina overturned the lighthouse a second time, washing out the caisson. This put an end to the effort to rebuild the lighthouse on its original location; the new plan is to rebuild it onshore in Pascagoula, using as much original material as possible. Located on a small island about 3 miles (5 km) off Pascagoula Harbor. Google has a satellite view. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: City of Pascagoula. ARLHS USA-711.

Ruins of Round Island Light after Katrina
Compton Engineering photo
* Biloxi
1848. Active (maintained by City of Biloxi); focal plane 61 ft (18.5 m); white light occulting every 4 s. 61 ft (18.5 m) cast iron tower (brick lined), 5° Fresnel lens (1926). Entire structure painted white, except for black balustrade. The keeper's houses were destroyed by Hurricane Camille in 1969. This is the second-oldest cast iron lighthouse in the U.S. The tower interior was restored in 1990, but the tower was closed in 2002 due to safety concerns. In August 2003, a consultant's report recommended resumption of tours with certain safety restrictions. The tower had been scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2005, but the destruction of most of the city of Biloxi by Hurricane Katrina put these plans on hold. The day after the hurricane, someone fastened a flag to the gallery rail as shown at right. The flag continues to fly there, as seen at the top of this page, as a symbol of the city's determination to rebuild. Although the lighthouse survived the hurricane, its interior brick lining was damaged and will need extensive repair. These repairs were originally scheduled for summer 2006, but the city was awaiting an insurance settlement before proceeding. In the meanwhile, the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce has formed a Light the Lighthouse Committee to help with restoration efforts. The lighthouse stands in the median of US 90 at the foot of Porter Street in Biloxi, just west of the I-110 interchange. Google has a satellite view. Site open; tower closed. Owner/site manager: City of Biloxi. ARLHS USA-056; Admiralty J3578; USCG 4-7785.
* Broadwater Beach Marina
1965(?). Status unknown (privately maintained); focal plane 67 ft (30 m); white flash every 5 s. Approx. 66 ft (20 m) cylindrical tower with gallery and an open lantern structure. This lighthouse was part of the President Casino Broadwater Resort, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. A March 2007 photo by C.W. Bash shows that the lighthouse survived the hurricane, but the marina is still closed. It is not known if the lighthouse is active, although it continues to be listed on the USCG Light List. Located off US 90 about 4 mi (6 km) west of the historic Biloxi Light, near Beauvoir. Google has a satellite view. Site status and manager unknown. ARLHS USA-1240; USCG 4-8375.

Biloxi Light flying the flag after Hurricane Katrina, August 31, 2005
City of Biloxi photo
#Ship Island (2) (replica)
2000 (replica of 1886 tower) (station established 1853). Destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. 70 ft (21 m ) square pyramidal frame tower, painted white; gallery and lantern black. The original 4° Fresnel lens (1856) had been on display at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi, but the museum was also destroyed by Katrina. The prisms of the lens were recovered and sent to the St. Augustine Lighthouse Museum in Florida for restoration. The Coast Guard has a historic photo of the original lighthouse, which burned to the ground in June 1972. The Shanklins have a photo showing the dilapidated appearance of the tower shortly before it burned. The lighthouse had been rebuilt on the original foundation by the Friends of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Lighthouse Digest has a story on the history of the light station and its reconstruction. ARLHS USA-756; USCG 4-0337.
* Ship Island (3)
1973. Active; focal plane 84 ft (25.5 m); white flash every 6 s. 80 ft (24 m) square pyramidal steel skeletal tower, built to replace the burned 1886 lighthouse. The tower also carries a large slatted daymark, painted red with a white vertical stripe. This lighthouse survived the hurricane. Ship Island itself was flooded and reshaped by Katrina, but some of the visitor facilities have been rebuilt. Located on West Ship Island near Fort Massachusetts. Accessible March through October by passenger ferry (toll) from Gulfport. Site open, tower closed. Owner: U.S. Coast Guard. Site manager: U.S. National Park Service (Gulf Islands National Seashore). ARLHS USA-1141; Admiralty J3602.8; USCG 4-0335.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

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Checked and revised July 16, 2007. Lighthouses: 4. Site copyright 2007 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.